Daily Dr. Roto — September 2, 2018
Washington Redskins Team Preview
Outlook: The Redskins knew they were going to lose Kirk Cousins, so they went and got Alex Smith to be their new signal caller. Smith is known for his “game manager” style of play, but that might work well within Jay Gruden’s system. Losing Derrius Guice for the season to an ACL injury is a brutal way to start the season, but the Skins are resilient and should put up a fight to get to .500 in the NFC East.
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QB: Alex Smith is probably not as bad as I make him out to be. He’s a smart guy who rarely makes a mistake with the football (only 5 INTs last season), but that might be because he rarely takes chances down the field. The Redskins are more of a dink and dunk passing attack than the Chiefs were, so that plays right into Smith’s strengths. Additionally, I see a lot of potential garbage time stats for Smith considering the Redskins defense still leaves a lot to be desired. Smith is considered a QB2 for Fantasy purposes, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him put up QB1 stats. I have him projected for 3800 yards passing (300 yards rushing) and 25-27 TDs.
RB: Goodbye Derrius Guice, hello Adrian Peterson. The Redskins signed AP hoping to find their new early down RB. Last year’s draft pick Samaje Perine has been a bust, and Rob Kelley is nothing more than a backup, so the Skins are hoping that AP has a little gas left in his tank. I am okay with taking AP as an RB4 in most leagues (especially standard). Game flow could hurt him (if the team falls way behind he won’t play as much), but there is an outside chance he could get 180-200 carries this season. I was doubtful that Chris Thompson could return from his leg injury to be effective, but Jay Gruden recently said that Thompson looks great and will be a big part of the team’s passing attack. If Thompson is healthy, he could be a PPR target monster and well worth taking in rounds 8-9 of most drafts.
Think you can beat the elite? Just $299 to find out if you have what it takes to win the $50K grand prize!WR: The Redskins have three solid, but not spectacular receivers who each bring something different to the table. Jamison Crowder is a sure-handed slot receiver who runs smart routes and always seems to find a crease in the opposing defense. He’s not a guy who can get double digit targets most weeks, but he is reliable and someone who should score about 13-15 Fantasy points per week. Josh Doctson is the deep threat who has not seemed to live up to his vast potential. Last year Doctson had only 35 receptions, and the team is hoping that he can do significantly better than that this season. I see Doctson as a big play guy fitting as a best ball alternative as he is not consistent enough in most redraft leagues. The Redskins gave Paul Richardson $40 million in free agency to leave Seattle to be their intermediate receiver. PRich finally showed last year what he could do if able to play 16 games. He had 44 catches for over 700 yards and 6 TDs in 2017. He can go over the middle and make a catch in traffic, and he can go deep and make a big play in the red zone. The Redskins either overpaid him or really like him considering they forked over so much money. I am going to go with the latter and take PRich as my WR6 or WR7 in some drafts.
TE: I know I joke about this all the time, but Jordan Reed is just one concussion away from a retirement home in Boca Raton. Reed cannot stay healthy. The most games he’s ever played was 14 back in 2015. If you draft him this season, I beg you to pair him up with a solid TE2 like Vance McDonald or Ben Watson. You can ill afford to lose Reed for 5-6 games and not have another available option on your roster. Luckily, the Redskins have Vernon Davis around to be Reed’s backup. Davis is 34 years old now, but he still is capable of being an impact player on offense, so long as he is not required to do so every week. He is the perfect complement to Reed as both of their stats together make for one excellent player.
K: I like Dustin Hopkins, and if it wasn’t for a hip injury last season I think he might have finished as a top ten scoring kicker. Hopkins is not usually a guy I draft, but I am more than willing to stream him into my lineups throughout the season.
D: There is some young talent on this roster (DE Jonathan Allen, NT Da’Ron Payne) as well as some solid LB (Mason Foster and Preston Smith). LB Zach Brown is a stud IDP, but there isn’t much else here for IDP leagues. I am not willing to trust them in seasonal leagues just yet, but I would certainly use them as a DFS streaming option if they have a plus matchup.
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